page_title: Kitabgi
section_title: Kitabgi's relationships with the Amin-al-Soltans
hierarchical_section_title: Kitabgi / Kitabgi's relationships with the Amin-al-Soltans
caption_attribution_description: English: Original picture signed by Amin al-Soultan and given to the Kitabgi family who authorizes its uploading in Wikimedia Commons
context_page_description: Antoine Kitabgi Khan, born on October 2, 1843 in Constantinople and deceased on December 20, 1902 in Livorno, was a Persian general who was director general of customs in Persia from 1881 to 1893 and initiated important concessions during the reigns of Nasseredin shah and his successor Mozaffareddin shah. He was in particular the initiator of the oil concession granted in 1901 to William Knox D'Arcy which gave birth to British Petroleum.
context_section_description: When Kitabgi took up his position as Director General of Customs, his chief was Agha Mohammed Ibrahim, Amin al-Soltan, with whom he maintained good relations, considering him a bit like a father. When Ibrahim died in 1883, his second son, Mirza Ali Asghar Khan, Emin ul-Mulk, took over his title and duties. This young man of 25 years knew a dazzling career: he was named grand-vizier in 1891 by Nasseredin shah and received from Mozaffaredin shah in 1900 the title, rarely awarded, of Atabek e-Azam. He was then the most powerful man in Persia after the Shah.
  When the young Amin al-Soltan took office, relations between Kitabgi and his new leader were strained. Kitabgi found it difficult to bear being under the orders of a young man fifteen years his junior. But as they worked together, the two men learned to appreciate each other, Kitabgi recognizing Amin al-Soltan's intelligence and the latter appreciating Kitabgi's skills. Sir Henry Drummond Wolff wrote in his memoirs: "The Amin-es-Sultan relied very much on a coadjutor of his - Kitabgi Khan - who was also of Georgian origin. He was a Roman Catholic, and married to an Armenian lady. The European element of the Persian Government was really represented by Kitabgi Khan, for he was well versed in Western matters - being able to draw up a concession and initiate commercial movements. He was the head of the Custom House".
  The two men remained friends until Kitabgi's death, and this friendship was maintained by Kitabgi's sons until the assassination of Amin al-Soltan in 1907. Thus, during the trip around the world that the latter undertook when he resigned from his post in September 1903, he was received by the Kitabgis on several occasions in France and Switzerland, as can be seen in numerous photographs kept by the Kitabgi family.
caption: Amin al-Soltan in Carlsbad, Germany, on his world tour. Photograph signed and given to the Kitabgi family.
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